「Story of Hope」 ゆよゆっぺ INTERVIEW @ OTOTOY (Part 1/3)

Here is an interview yuyoyuppe did with ototoy coinciding with the release of his debut on a major label. Can’t really vouch for how accurate this translation is, though.

Also, because it’s quite a long interview for a beginner like me, I’ve split it into three parts.

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アイコンとしてボーカロイドを捉えている部分はありますね
“You’ve claimed the a role as a Vocaloid icon, huh?”
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ーー資料に「暗黒の時代を抜け…」と書いてありますが、ゆよゆっぺさんにとっての暗黒時代っていうのは、どういう時期のことなんでしょう。

Q: There is a section of the documentary you wrote called [The Period of Darkness Was Ending…], but during that “Period of Darkness” were you alright? What was happening?

ゆよゆっぺ : 以前『Wall in the presence.』っていう、僕が歌った曲を収録した音源を配信させてもらったとき、いかに自分がボーカロイドに頼り切っていたかってことを認識したんです。ボーカロイドのシーンでそれなりに評価されて、名前も覚えていただいていたんですけど、実際自分一人の作品ってなったときに力が足りないことに気がついて。ボーカロイドを作っているときのようにうまくいかなくて、だいぶ落ち込んだんです。悩んだ結果、もっと根本的なところを掘り下げて考えたり、外に出て題材を集めたりして、より大きな世界で考えてみようと思って。

A: Before [Wall in the presence.], a compilation of songs I myself sang where a lot of work was done for me (in terms of distribution), I realized I needed to cut myself off from relying on Vocaloid. In its own way, the Vocaloid scene had acknowledged me, and everyone seemed to know my name and had expectations for me, but the reality was I was one person making songs, and the time and effort that it took, well, I realized I didn’t have the strength to continue. The time when I was using Vocaloid just wasn’t working out, and I was really upset. As a result of my worries, I think I ended up doing some soul-searching, went out and collected my thoughts (lit. “subjects/themes”), and just thought about this huge world.

A: Until then, for some reason or another I was able to put my full efforts into making songs. But, they weren’t very good, and when I was singing it also lacked “punch.” Because of that, and for no real reason, I rode the train and observed people who were going to McDonald’s and such, and guessed what they were thinking about.

ーーつまり、落ち込む前の次期は経験だけでやっていたけれど、ある程度経験を出し尽くした結果、伸び悩んでしまったわけですね。

Q: Basically, before your slump ended, you felt you had exhausted what you could experience where you were, and had regrettably become sluggish, so you took a break, correct?

ゆよゆっぺ : そうですね。そこで壁にぶつかったことで、インプット収集の大切さを覚えて、今の形ができたかなって思います。

A: Yeah. I think I just kept hitting against that barrier, building up a large collection of important input, and was able to become the person I am now.

ーーさっきおっしゃられた、二コ動の世界からもう一個大きい世界にでてみて、思い描いていたものと違いはありましたか。

Q: Some time ago you said, “the world of NicoVideo was just one piece of the huge world you could go out and see;” didn’t you think there were differences between the reality and the idea you depicted?

A: Honestly, I thought there wasn’t any difference. But, everything was different back then (laughs). Can’t you see the direct response on NicoVideo? Things like that are scary; your exact worth is decided on and it’s suspenseful. You could receive a Twitter reply saying “It’s good, yeah?”, and because of that you wonder what the people who are paying attention are thinking, right?

A: Not really, it’s more of an experience thing. Each and every pro I met had an amazing understanding. For example, the mixing engineers they work with are all totally different. The artist, they might say things like “At this part, there’s a reason I want it like this, what do you think?” and while I’m trying to understand the artist’s idea, I’m able to catch a glimpse of the pro’s skillful sense. I think, when vocalists are finished singing and they’ll go, “I’m fine, is it alright if we do another take?” in a whisper, that spirit makes them a pro, yeah? (laughs) “One more time is alright?” in a small voice, they’ll say, and that spirit makes them a pro, I believe.

A: The genres I work within are incredibly small, but I wanted a lot of people to listen. If there ever was a middle school girl around here who would say “That screamo band is great!” with spirit, I think I could be in peace with the world. Emo, screamo, hardcore, loud music… because lots of people like to experience that kind of music, I built a reputation as some sort of Vocaloid icon from trying hard; that was my original motivation.

A: Because it’s Vocaloid songs I think there are people who will try to listen to it (even if it is “loud music”). Eventually, there was an interest for hardcore Vocaloid songs. Doing that, wasn’t it like I was killing two birds with one stone? Because of that, I seized some sort of Vocaloid icon status. A version of that song “Hope” with me singing is on Nicovideo, so first if I receive listens on the Vocaloid version, maybe they will also want to hear the version I sang. I think there are people out there who think the same way.

A: I think the so-called shouts are frequently unintelligible and there are people who can’t hear (understand) them. I think those kinds of people except the expressiveness of screamo and loud music. If people are able to hear the solid sound and the violent bite of the music in their ears, then people may become used to the songs I sang myself and be able to understand the mood of the music. That’s what I think, anyway.